First FY11 NEA Grants to Orchestras Announced - (November 30, 2010)

November 30, 2010, Washington, D.C. - Grants awarded to orchestras by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) provide vital funding support for projects that support and increase access to music in communities nationwide. The first FY11 NEA grant awards were announced on November 23 through the Challenge America: Fast Track Review and Access to Artistic Excellence grant categories. In addition to supporting local projects directly, NEA funding stimulates crucial giving from other sources like private foundations, corporations, and individual contributors.

Orchestras in thirteen communities will provide performances, pre-concert lectures, workshops, enrichment programs, and master classes with the support of $10,000 grants recently awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Challenge America grants will help orchestras bring the experience of the arts to underserved populations limited by geography, demographics, economics, or disability.

Future FY11 grants will be announced in the categories of Learning in the Arts for Children & Youth and Access to Artistic Excellence Part Two.

The League has compiled the project descriptions for grants to orchestras and grants related to the orchestra field. Complete lists of grant amounts and project descriptions for awards in all disciplines may be found on the NEA web site.

The NEA will announce deadlines for FY12 Grants for Arts Projects, the Endowment's major support category for organizations in early-mid January. The Access to Artistic Excellence and Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth categories have been replaced with a new funding category called Art Works, with the sub categories of Creation, Engagement, Livability, and Learning.

While the full slate of deadlines has yet to be announced, the NEA has announced that the Learning deadlines (previously taking place in June) will now be March 10, 2011 for community-based projects, and August 11, 2011 for school-based projects. The deadline for Challenge America Fast-Track Review Grants will be May 26, 2011

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The League is a member of the Performing Arts Alliance,
a coalition of national performing arts service organizations dedicated
to advocating for national policies that recognize, enhance, and foster
the contributions the performing arts make to America